Wednesday, July 22, 2015

Amazingly, astoundingly, the windblown delphiniums look fine since I stood them up again. A few were broken but even they don't seem worse for wear. The shasta daisies are in full bloom and my hollyhocks (among the favourites) are just getting started. The pink speedwells are starting to turn colour and the purple coneflowers are beginning to blossom, too. Alas, the weeds ... I need to spend a good hour out there with my horseshoe hoe, and the clippers to cut back the seven-foot-tall caragana hedge that is the windbreak.

So, I'm on vacation. Two weeks of holiday time. And what do I do? I stay home. My only plans are to clean the fridge (one shelf per day; let's not overdo this shit), organize the office (a few minutes per day), wash the windows (not all at once), and keep on top of the dishes, for a change.

Oh I am so ambitious.

But there are some big expenses coming up, so I can't hit the highway if I'm going to be practical and not run up credit card bills that add up and empty my savings account. I am two years overdue for an eye checkup and will need new glasses, probably bi-focals or even progressives; my car registration and insurance have to be renewed next month; and stepson Gunnar is getting married in Calgary in early September, so there's time off work, travel accommodations and food to pay for, and so on. Just the usual stuff of life, but a bunch of it in a short time.

I'm happy enough to stay home though, and am not complaining, not by a long shot. There's the odd trip I can't afford to take if I insist upon living within my means, which I do, but there are other things I can enjoy during the work break, like taking the 20-minute drive to visit my sister Karen and pedalling around Margo Lake with her on her fun little paddle-boat. Also Aunt Reta is flying in from Phoenix for a few weeks — something to look forward to — and I've offered to pick her up in the city, so will be able to spend a couple nights there with my dear friend Cathy before coming back out here. And Cathy Bell, another friend from high school days in the dorm at Luther College in Regina, is going to drive out for an afternoon, since I didn't feel I could wisely incur the expense of driving into the city to spend a couple days with her, even though she always, generously, foots the bill for a hotel room when she is there. With the cost of a few restaurant meals and even the most minor of entertainments plus the fuel to get there and back, it's not an expensive trip on its own but it is still too much when combined with the other things I need cash for very soon. So I'm being frugal and staying put.